SilverStone Olympia OP650 650w Power Supply

Earlier this year at CES, we had an opportunity to chat with Tony Ou from SilverStone as he walked us through their booth and introduced us to their product line. Perhaps it was our casual attire that indicated an introduction would be necessary (how many people can claim they've worn a Pac-Man shirt to a meeting?), but to claim that we're well aware of SilverStone's standing in the industry as a result of being active enthusiasts in the computer world for over two decades would be overkill, nor do we need to point out that it's our job as tech journalists to be aware of such things. The truth is, when it comes to SilverStone, they're one of the few companies where their reputation truly precedes them, and in a good way. No other manufacturer has been chosen to house Maximum PC magazine's annual Dream Machine components since 2004 (only one year after SilverStone was founded), and their Temjin line of cases continue to set the bar for high end enclosures.

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Earlier this year at CES, we had an opportunity to chat with Tony Ou from SilverStone as he walked us through their booth and introduced us to their product line. Perhaps it was our casual attire that indicated an introduction would be necessary (how many people can claim they've worn a Pac-Man shirt to a meeting?), but to claim that we're well aware of SilverStone's standing in the industry as a result of being active enthusiasts in the computer world for over two decades would be overkill, nor do we need to point out that it's our job as tech journalists to be aware of such things. The truth is, when it comes to SilverStone, they're one of the few companies where their reputation truly precedes them, and in a good way. No other manufacturer has been chosen to house Maximum PC magazine's annual Dream Machine components since 2004 (only one year after SilverStone was founded), and their Temjin line of cases continue to set the bar for high end enclosures.

Now in their fourth year, like any toddler of such age, SilverStone would like to show off some new tricks. While they will continue to focus on premiere case design, their power supply line has been updated in preparation for ever increasing demands from today's power hungry systems, particularly those sporting multiple graphics cards. But most interestingly, SilverStone has bucked recent tradition and borrowed a page from PC Power & Cooling's philosophy by implementing a single beefy +12V rail in a day and age where we've seen some power supplies show off as many as six! Today we'll be looking at one such model, the Olympia OP650, which as the name implies, can dole out 650w of power with a hefty 54 amp rating on the solo +12V rail. Is that enough to provide a stable environment for an overclocked rig with a pair of nVidia videocards? We've got a couple of 8800GTS GPUs on hand and an overclocking friendly setup just waiting to find out!

Model

OP650

Max DC Output

650W

PFC

Active

Weight

2.6kg

Dimensions

150mm (W) x 86mm (H) x 150mm (D)

Efficiency

>80%

Noise Level

22 dBA minimum

Cooling

120mm Ball Bearing Fan

MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure)

100,000 hours at 25C, full load

Operating Temperature

0-50C

Protection

Over Circuit/Power/Voltage

Short Circuit

CONTENTS AND CASING

Unlike motherboards or a baby's dirty diaper, we never expect to find much when looking at the contents of a power supply bundle, and there were no surprises when unpacking the OP650. Along with the standard power cable, user's manual, and baggy of installation screws, we do get a pair of zip ties to help with cable management. Since the cables aren't of the modular variety, you'll want to use these zip ties, and we would liked to have seen several more included.

Aesthetics on a power supply are about as useful as sleeping pills for someone in a coma, but the practicality of vanity aside, the indented logo and SilverStone signa add a sense of perceived elegance to a typical black exterior. Looking beyond form and focusing on function, the standard sized casing means you'll have no trouble squeezing this unit into any chassis that accepts ATX power supplies, a feat that can present a challenge to oversized PSUs.

Looking at the side of our OP650, aesthetics play a bigger role by listing several specs. We're most interested in the +12V rail(s), which we can see that our PSU can provide up to 54 amps on a single line. We also find our serial number should an RMA ever be needed, along with a revision code, V1.1 on our test unit. Curiously missing is a UL file number, which HardwareSecrets recently reported can be used to find the real manufacturer of a power supply. It's not uncommon for companies to slap their label on a unit that someone else built to their specification, and punching in the UL code in the Online Certifications Directory can retrieve this information, although a rebadged PSU can still be registered under the seller's name, and not necessarily the manufacturer's.

Looking at the backside, we see the popular honeycomb grill that most power supplies utilize for ventilation. Aside from OCZ's short stint with adjustable pots in their Powerstream series, there's typically not much to see on the back of PSUs.

COOLING AND CABLING

Flipping the unit over uncovers a large grill that spans nearly the entire surface. Underneath sits a 120mm fan to help keep the components nestled inside cool.

Providing active airflow duties, the 120mm fan in question is an Everflow ball bearing unit. According to Everflow's specifications, this two ball bearing fan can run as high as 2900RPM with a 99.99CFM rating. Should the fan ever need to ramp up that high, it would produce a distracting noise level of 42.9dBA, but throughout our testing, the Everflow remained pleasantly whisper quiet.

No, you're not looking at Peter Paul Rubens' Tête de Méduse, nor did someone spill a heaping plate of spaghetti on our work bench. Even more delicious, the OP650 shows off enough connections to ensure that you'll run out of drive bays before you do places to plug your peripherals in, including an 8-pin PCI-E connector for newer high end videocards. All in all, you get a 20+4 pin main ATX connector, an 8-pin EPS12V connector that splits apart for 4-pin ATX12V motherboards, six SATA connectors, six 4-pin Molex connectors, two 4-pin floppy plugs, two 6-pin PCI-E connectors, and the aforementioned 8-pin PCI-E plug.

With so many cables and connectors, cable management becomes a primary concern. Not only does a tidy system hold visual appeal for anyone with a case window or simply a penchant for cleanliness, but tucking wires out of the way has a real affect on a system's overall airflow. Sleeved cables provides a great benefit in this area, and we're pleased as punch to see SilverStone sheath all the cables. But our pleasing punch also sports an unpleasant aftertaste when we see the naked wiring in between the connectors on the SATA and 4-pin Molex cables. A dentist will tell you to be sure and floss in between teeth, and as enthusiasts, we like to see a power supply's cables' in-betweens properly cleaned up too.

INTERNAL AND TESTING

One of the tell-tale signs of a well crafted power supply is the overall weight of unit. While not a definitive measure of solid workmanship, heavier power supplies tend to use heavy duty components and beefier heatsinks than those found on generic units. Popping off the top on our OP650 uncovers a pleasant sight, as we see our unit jam packed with a couple of big heatsinks and large coils. And for those that put stock in particular brands of capacitors, we found a few marked by Teapo. On a side note, be aware that opening your power supply not only voids your warranty, but it also presents a serious risk of electric shock. A significant charge can still be stored inside, even after you've powered it off and unplugged the unit, and standing in a bucket of water will surely only compound the hazard.

Testing Methodology

Here at HardwareLogic, we strive to provide our readers with accurate and real-world results of every component we put through the wringer. This philosophy presents a challenge when testing power supplies of increasing size, as it would take one monster of a test bed to flex the capabilities of these big watt behemoths. It's simply not enough to hook up a high end system, record the voltages, and praise a PSU afterwards. For this reason, we've employed the talents of our very own Chris Adcock (the only real life Rocket Scientist we know) and longtime forum friend Ron Blain (Electrical Engineer extraordinaire) to build and maintain a custom test bed that we'll be using for future power supply reviews. Without giving away too much before we have a final product, this custom test bed will be able to provide a true full load while measuring key aspects of a PSU's performance under controlled temperatures. The initial prototype looks very promising, and we hope to have a final revision by this summer. In the meantime, we'll be conducting our power supply reviews in the most real world way possible, despite the limitations of such testing. This means outfitting a high end system with dual videocards, increasing the voltages, and overclocking our processor to simulate the computing habits of enthusiasts. Our testbed today consists of the following components:

Our testing today focuses on measuring the +12V, +5V, and +3.3V rails both at idle and with a full system load. We then take a second set of measurements after overclocking our processor to 2.8GHz (up from 2.0GHz at stock), increasing the vCore to 1.525V, and increasing our RAM's voltage to 2.4V. The ATX specification allows a 5% variance in either direction, so we'll be looking to make sure our unit is not in danger of running out of spec. Equally important, if not more so, is whether or not these rails remain stable or have a tendency to jump around. In other words, do they provide clean power? For example, we'd much rather have a power supply whose +12V rail remains at a constant 11.90V (well within the 5% variance allowed) over one that measures +12V on the nose but repeatedly fluctuates all over the place.

Stock Idle

Stock Load

Idle OC'd

Load OC'd

+12V

12.10

12.09

12.10

12.09

+5V

5.02

5.01

5.01

5.00

+3.3V

3.4

3.39

3.40

3.38

The results we measured with our multimeter simply look incredible. All three lines fell within the ATX specification, and whether at stock settings or in overclocked form, we saw only a .01V fluctuation across the board when pulling a load, save for a single .02V variance in the +3.3V line when overclocked. It's worth repeating that we're not equipped to truly test the limits of a power supply (few sites are, with SilentPCReview and JohnnyGuru being a couple of our favorites), but despite this limitation, we're still running a real system outfitted with a pair of high end graphics cards while running a fairly aggressive CPU overclock, and the Olympia OP650 refuses to flinch. There may be some underlying ripple going on, but at the end of the day, our system remained stable, the power supply's fan ran quiet, and the three main rails never gave us any indication that we should be concerned. In fact, the variance recorded represents the tightest to date for all power supplies we've reviewed thus far.

Streets for $158 shipped on Newegg, a tad high for a non-modular 650w power supply

Our Recommendation

For the most part, SilverStone's immaculate attention to detail in case design has been translated into their PSU line. We're a bit surprised they didn't go the extra mile in cable sheathing and cover the wires in between connectors, but it's a far cry from not having any sleeving at all. Dressing aside, the OP650 brings a lot to the table. Serving up six SATA and six 4-pin Molex connectors along with an 8-pin PCI-E plug makes for a feast capable of satisfying high end appetites, but it's the performance that we found most delightful. Running two 8800GTS videocards and an overclocked processor with a moderately high vCore, the OP650 just would not budge. In fact, the rails ran tighter than any PSU to ever come through HardwareLogic's test bench, and while the price point puts this power supply above comparable models, we'd easily consider it to be best in class based on our testing. And because they've gone the single +12V route, we have no worries of high end videocards exceeding the 15-20A limit imposed by most PSUs that employ multiple +12V rails.

We've always appreciated SilverStone's exquisite styling in their Temjin case line, and they now have a winner in their power supply department as well. Boasting a large single +12V rail and the most stable voltages we've tested to date, the SilverStone Olympia OP650 stands out among other power supplies in its class and bodes very well for the Olympia line in general.

Other Reviews of Note

It's always nice to have more than one opinion on a component before you spend your hard earned money. For one, we may see something others missed, or vice versa. As with all reviews published at HardwareLogic, we'll not only give you our recommendation, but also point out some reviews from some other great sites from around the web.JonnyGuruPhoronix